With the win, ETSU improves to 5-11 overall and 3-6 in Atlantic Sun play, while Jacksonville drops to 7-13 overall and 3-6 in league action.

“I felt like this team was about to turn the corner,” head coach Karen Kemp said. “I was really proud of our effort the last couple of games and we were really, really close to turning that corner. Tonight we got the lead and never let up. That is what I preach to them, ‘you get someone down you have to keep them down.’ I thought we played really, really well defensively and on offense, Tiana [Burley] can be a real presence for us and we need that every day from her.”

After settling for contested jump shots for much of the game in the recent loss to North Florida, the Lady Bucs started the first half attacking the basket. This changed philosophy propelled ETSU to a 7-0 run in the first two minutes of the period and a 13-4 run before the first media timeout at the 15:40 mark. The Blue and Gold continued this more efficient offense for the remainder of the stanza, dominating the Dolphins, 30-8, in points in the paint. ETSU also added 15 bench points compared to JU’s two and scored 11 points off of 10 offensive rebounds. This offensive onslaught led to a 43-25 ETSU advantage at the break, the most the Lady Bucs have scored in the first half since scoring 44 in the opening stanza on Feb. 5, 2010 at Stetson.

ETSU was able to sustain their lead in the second half and answered any showings by the Dolphins. The second period proved to be the ‘Tiana Burley Show’ as she scored 14 of her 22 points total points in the half as well as six rebounds in the stanza. The sophomore forward went from coming off the bench in the first period to commanding double teams in the second. In addition to Burley, eight other Lady Bucs reached the scoring column as ETSU came away victorious, 74-57. The 17-point win is the largest margin of victory since dominating the Lipscomb Lady Bisons by 20 points on Feb. 16, 2012 in Nashville.

Burley’s 22 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks were each game-highs. The Lady Bucs also received boosts from Serena Clark (Tucker, Ga.), who narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, as well as from Destiny Mitchell (Bluffton, Ga.) who turned in her routinely solid performance with 10 points and five boards. Meanwhile, JU got a team-high 14 points from Tracie Sneed, while Stephanie Edwards added 10 points.

For the first time this season, the Lady Bucs shot 50 percent or better from the field with an even 50 percent tonight. ETSU also shot 65 percent from the free throw line but once again struggled from three, making only 1-out-of-10. The Blue and Gold again outrebounded their opponent (47-30) and dominated in nearly every other category, including points in the paint (50-18), 26 points off of 19 offensive rebounds, and bench points (34-20).

Meanwhile, JU struggled all night from the field, burying only 32 percent of their attempts, including only 23 percent from behind the arc. The Dolphins did shoot it well from the charity stripe, making 89 percent of their tries and held a slim advantage with 18 points off of ETSU’s 21 miscues.

The Lady Bucs will continue the homestand when they host Lipscomb on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 1:30 p.m. inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletics Center. Click here for tickets.

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